Debuting in All Japan in 2005, Giant Bernard quickly jumped up the ladder and became the second most successful gaijin, only behind Jamal. He started slow, coming in 4th place at the Champions Carnival (usually losing by DQ, count-out, etc.). Part of the Voodoo Murderers, Giant Bernard teamed with the likes of TARU, Palumbo, and Stamboli to be the strongest force in All Japan. Giant Bernard also challenged for the Triple Crown against Kojima, but he was not successful. Before leaving All Japan, Giant Bernard teamed with TARU at the Real World Tag League, and they came in fourth in their block. In December of 2005, Giant Bernard left All Japan for New Japan.

Giant Bernard started his New Japan career in 2006 with a victory over Nakanishi at the Tokyo Dome and in April he won the second annual New Japan Cup by defeating Nagata. This allowed him to challenge Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight Champion on May 3rd, which he lost in a close and hard fought struggle. Officially with Black New Japan, Giant Bernard frequently teamed with Chono from the spring into the summer. At the 2006 G1 Climax, Giant Bernard came in 2nd place in his bracket but lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winner Tenzan. He also came in second in the tournament in July to crown the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, losing to Tanahashi. In the G1 Tag League he teamed with Tomko, and even though the pair won their bracket they would lose in the semi-finals to Masahiro Chono and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Giant Bernard had arguably his strongest year to date in 2007 as he dominated that tag team division and was a force to be reckoned with in the singles division as well. Teaming with Travis Tomko, he would win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Match 11th and would hold it for the rest of the year. During that time they would defeat Tenzan and Koshinaka, Nagata and Iizuka, Tanahashi and Yamamoto, and Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi. In the G1 Tag League they would defeat Tanahashi and Kanemoto to win the tournament, cementing themselves as the best tag team in Japan. In singles action, in the New Japan Cup Giant Bernard defeated Nakanishi before losing to Nagata in the semi-finals. In the G1 Climax, Giant Bernard defeated Chono and Tenzan but missed the semi-finals by one point. When Tomko was unable to make the trip to Japan, Bernard teamed with other BLACK (then RISE) members and rarely was defeated. On December 9th Giant Bernard got a chance to face IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tanahashi in a non-title match, but Tanahashi would be victorious.

Giant Bernard continued being the most difficult gaijin to defeat in New Japan throughout 2008. At the Tokyo Dome, Giant Bernard and Tomko successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, defeating the Steiner Brothers. They would lose the championship the following month to Makabe and Yano, almost a full year after winning the titles. In the New Japan Cup, Giant Bernard defeated Tomoaki Honma, Koji Kanemoto, and Toru Yano, but would lose to Tanahashi in the finals. In the summer Giant Bernard got a new tag team partner, Rick Fuller, who would team with him the rest of the year. On July 21st, Giant Bernard and Fuller challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship but would come up short. In the G1 Climax, Giant Bernard defeated Kojima, Otani, and Hiroshi Tanahashi but failed to make the finals. In the G1 Tag League, Giant Bernard teamed with Fuller but they would lose to Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto in the Semi-finals decision match for their Block. Bernard took on Tanahashi on December 6th in a singles match, but Tanahashi avenged his G1 Climax loss by beating Giant Bernard with the High Fly Flow.

Staying out of the New Japan vs. NOAH feud, Giant Bernard spent the bulk of 2009 teaming with CHAOS member and fellow American Karl Anderson. In the New Japan Cup, Bernard defeated Yutaka Yoshie in the Semi Final but fell to Hirooki Goto in the finals. Teaming with Karl Anderson, in May they defeated TenKoji to win a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They faced off against Team 3D for the titles on June 20th, but the CHAOS duo would come up short. Bernard participated in the G1 Climax, and even though he defeated Togi Makabe and Takao Omori he failed to reach the Semi Final. In the G1 Tag League he teamed with his friend Karl Anderson, and the team would defeat Apollo55 in the Finals to win the tournament. This gave them another title shot at the 2010 Tokyo Dome event.